The Forest: Dianne Wiest to star from 23 Apr

Classic Stage Company (CSC) will present two-time Academy Award-winner Dianne Wiest (Hannah and Her Sisters, Bullets Over Broadway) The Forest, by Alexander Ostrovosky, translated by Kathleen Tolan, and directed by Brian Kulick, opening at the CSC on 6 May 2010, following previews from 23 Apr and running through to 30 May 2010.

The Forest will also star Obie Award-winning actor John Douglas Thompson, who earned critical acclaim last year for his title role performance in 'Othello' at Theatre for a New Audience and more recently in The Irish Repertory's production of "The Emperor Jones."

The Forest: Before Chekhov, there was Alexander Ostrovsky, Russia's first great theatrical reformer, who forged comedy and drama into a remarkably rich theatrical mix, paving the way for a generation of modern Russian playwrights. Wiest, who last starred at the CSC when she played opposite Alan Cumming in 'The Seagull,' returns to the theatre in this romantic romp, where the most dangerous creatures in the forest are two vagabond actors, posing as gentry, who crash a nearby estate, turning an orderly manor upside down.

The cast of The Forest also features Adam Driver, Quincy Dunn-Baker, Herb Foster, Lisa Joyce, Lizbeth MacKay, George Morfogen, John Christopher Jones and Tony Torn.

Scenic design is bySanto Loquasto, with lighting by Peter Kaczorowski, costumes by Marco Piemontese and original music and sound design by Christian Frederickson and Ryan Rumery.

Dianne Wiest (Raisa) Broadway credis include "All My Sons," "Salome," "In the Summer House," Beyond Therapy," "Othello," "Frankenstein," and "Solitaire / Double Solitaire". Wiest has won Obie Awards for her Off-Broadway performances in "The Art of Dining" and "Serenading Louie." Film credits include "The Purple Rose of Cairo," "Hannah and Her Sisters" (Oscar), "Radio Days," "September" and "Bullets Over Broadway" (Oscar), all by Woody Allen. She also appeared in "Parenthood" (Oscar nomination), "Edward Scissorhands" and "The Birdcage." She recently completed Charlie Kaufman’s movie "Synecdoche" and the acclaimed HBO series “In Treatment.” Wiest appeared at Classic Stage Company two seasons ago as 'Arkadina' in Chekhov’s 'The Seagull.'

John Douglas Thompson (Gennady) was recently seen as 'Othello' at Theatre for a New Audience and played the title role in 'The Emperor Jones' with Irish Rep. On Broadway he has appeared in Cyrano de Bergerac and Julius Caesar (opposite Denzel Washington). Off-Broadway Thompson won an Obie and Lucille Lortel Award for his portrayal of 'Othello' at the Theatre for a New Audience. Other Off-Broadway credits include Theatre for a New Audience productions of Antony and Cleopatra and Oroonoko, Classical Theatre of Harlem's King Lear, and a New York Theatre Workshop production of Hedda Gabler.